Chapter 305: The Crown Prince
"Your Majesty, it's too late. The Ministry of Revenue will need at least three days to collect food and fodder, plus the transportation time..." The Minister of Revenue hesitated and did not continue speaking, but everyone present knew the deep meaning of it.
At this time, the emperor was extremely grateful that this shocking news did not come during the early morning court session.
Otherwise, within two hours, a large number of people would migrate south out of panic.
For a moment, the atmosphere in the imperial study fell into a somewhat depressing and heavy silence.
Finally, Prime Minister Li Zhu broke the silence, "Your Majesty, since the Crown Prince was framed by a treacherous scheme, and now we are in urgent need of personnel, the situation is extremely critical. It would be wise to restore the Crown Prince's reputation and rights, allowing him to personally travel to the northern border to act at his discretion. This may resolve the current urgent need."
"Although my family's assets are not very rich, I am willing to donate 100,000 taels of silver for the brave soldiers fighting in the northern border."
In the past, there would definitely be people in the court who would find various reasons to sing a different tune.
But now, as long as the northern border can be guaranteed not to be lost, let alone letting the former crown prince return and donating some silver, even if the emperor is to be replaced, I am afraid that few of the court officials present will object.
Country, country. Without a country, there is no home. When the nest is overturned, no egg can remain intact. This is a basic truth that everyone understands.
So everyone stood up and agreed with Prime Minister Li Zhu's opinion. Not only that, they were also generous when paying money.
Therefore, in just a quarter of an hour, the money needed to purchase military rations for the Zhenbei Army was almost enough.
An hour later, the prince received two imperial edicts.
An imperial edict explicitly restored his once-lost status as crown prince;
The other was to directly issue an order, asking him to immediately set off for the northern border to take on the arduous but crucial task of raising military supplies for the Zhenbei Army.
The prince was delighted when he received the imperial edict and his status was restored.
But at this moment, there was no time to indulge in this joy, as his thoughts were interrupted by the urgent and difficult task of raising military rations.
At this moment, the young eunuch who came along to read the imperial edict keenly noticed the prince's embarrassment. Without hesitation, he quickly stepped forward, bowed respectfully, and said, "Your Highness, the Empress said that you might want to go to the Fan Mansion."
"The Fan Mansion? When the fifth brother returned to the capital, he once secretly came to visit him. During that time, they talked most about the woman that Fan Jingrui married on the day he was exiled?" The prince had thought it was just an exaggeration and did not take it seriously.
But now at this critical moment, my mother finally found an opportunity to send me a message, and the woman she mentioned was that woman?
The prince may be suspicious of everyone in the world, but he has complete faith in the queen.
Therefore, he quickly changed his clothes, and without any delay or hesitation, he rode his horse and galloped all the way to the gate of Fan's house.
However, in the end, it was all in vain.
The Crown Prince frowned. "Have you ever asked where Princess Yixin went and when she will return home?"
The person knocking on the door and asking questions was the eunuch who had always been by the prince's side. Because he had no information about the imperial mausoleum, he didn't know much about many things going on in the capital.
So he glanced cautiously at the Crown Prince and replied respectfully, "The concierge said that Princess Yixin goes to the Imperial Women's Academy at this time every day and doesn't return until around twilight."
"You Hour?" The imperial decree demanded immediate departure, leaving no room for delay. The Crown Prince pondered for a moment before decisively saying, "Lead the way to the Imperial Women's College."
Chu Ci was a little dumbfounded when he heard the announcement. "Who are you talking about?"
"Crown Prince! Although I don't know the exact reason, the Crown Prince imprisoned in the Imperial Mausoleum has been released. But the person outside is indeed the Crown Prince, there is no doubt about that." Due to the lag in official reports, Qianxue was unaware that the Crown Prince's status had been restored. But in her opinion, it was only a matter of time; the Crown Prince's restoration was inevitable. Therefore, she answered with confidence.
Chu Ci felt helpless when he heard this answer. What else could he do? What else could he do? There was nothing else he could do at this moment, so he could only quickly invite the person in.
You have to know that the two had never even met before, so they were undoubtedly complete strangers.
So, after the greetings, the atmosphere became awkward.
After a long pause, the Crown Prince finally needed help. He could only suppress his embarrassment and slowly said, "I have heard that Princess Yixin is extremely talented and gifted in farming. I wonder if the Princess can help the court raise some food and fodder?"
Chu Ci's eyes suddenly shifted upon hearing this. "Food and fodder? Besides the Northern Frontier, is there a raging war somewhere else? Or did the food and fodder being transported to the Northern Frontier encounter some unexpected incident along the way?"
Having said that, Chu Ci looked at the prince with eyes instantly filled with deep sympathy.
The prince felt even more embarrassed when he saw this. If he had not been carrying out his mission as the prince and holding on, he would probably have fled in embarrassment!
But thinking of the soldiers of the Zhenbei Army still struggling to hold on at the front lines, waiting for food and supplies, the Crown Prince could only bite the bullet, suppressing his inner embarrassment, and asked again, "Does Princess Yixin have any solution?"
"How much?" Chu Ci knew that his space had enough food, but if he accepted the task without hesitation, it would seem foolish and impulsive. So, he asked.
The prince didn't have much hope at first, and never expected Chu Ci to be so efficient and decisive.
Chu Ci was so straightforward that the prince didn't want to let him go too far, so he said, "Fifty, no, three hundred thousand dan, regardless of the variety."
At this point, the prince coughed lightly, trying to hide his discomfort, and said, "If possible, it would be best if we could disguise it as other supplies. Well, but it doesn't matter if we can't do that. As long as we can get enough food, I will take care of the rest."
Hearing this, Chu Ci stared at the prince for a long time with a burning gaze. His eyes were focused and deep, making the prince feel uncomfortable all over.
After a long pause, Chu Ci finally spoke slowly, "I have a way to safely transport 300,000 dan of grain and fodder without disturbing anyone."
"Are you serious?" The prince had originally just wanted to give it a try, but he had not expected the results to far exceed his expectations.
At this moment, he even suspected that even if he asked for 500,000 dan, Chu Ci might be able to find a way.
Thinking of this, a hint of regret arose in my heart.
Chu Ci, unaware of the Crown Prince's thoughts, nodded slightly and offered a condition that seemed unthinkable to the Crown Prince: "However, I have one condition: I must go there in person. What do you think, Crown Prince?"
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